Helping Your Child with Special Needs Love Books

Helping Your Child with Special Needs Love Books

Parents know reading to their babies and young children helps build their attention span and develop language. But, some say they have difficulty getting their baby to really pay attention to books. This can be especially difficult when a young child has special needs which affect their learning.

For a young child whose learning is more challenging, it is very helpful to have “multi-modal” methods for teaching. This means using all of a child’s senses to help him or her to learn. SoftPlay’s books provide textures to explore and activities on each page to challenge young children in fun and exciting ways. They encourage visual attention because they are bright and attractive. They encourage listening through simple words and sentences. The rhyming verses, when read rhythmically, can really keep a young child’s attention. The books are durable and mouth-able, both of which are often important for a young child.

Some of SoftPlay’s new products are especially helpful in promoting a love of books and learning for young children with special needs. When a child has difficulty with movement, these books encourage fine motor manipulation and opportunities for learning. When a child has difficulty with listening, books provide a lot of motivating practice opportunities for adults to encourage these skills. Children who have problems with language especially benefit from many chances to use books which have multiple uses and features to explore.

Learning Tips Using New SoftPlay Books:
Hand Puppet Books: These are especially good for young children who need more action from the book in order to keep their attention. The adult can make the puppet “pop up” to surprise and delight the child. The book gives directions to the reader which the puppet can imitate, promoting imitation in the child as well. Try letting the child show the puppet something to do in order to build creativity. Read with animation and excitement and watch how your child lights up!

Lift and Look shape books: Young children with special needs often need extra assistance with visual motor tasks. These books are colorful and durable with a puzzle on each page. The added benefit is a peek-a-boo factor, with pictures underneath each puzzle shape. A rhyme on each page encourages the child to follow directions and listen carefully. Children can use these books best when an adult is helping them but, as they gain familiarity, they can often go through the book on their own, putting the shapes into holes and learning good fine motor skills in the process. The pictures underneath help with visual figure ground, visual identification and labeling skills.

3-D Story Magnets: Magnets intrigue young children and make it easier for children with some fine motor difficulties to place and release the character onto the page. In addition to visual matching and figure ground, listening and responding are promoted with these books. Keep a child’s attention by reading with a rhythmic, sing-song voice. Children’s creativity and imagination are encouraged with the little animal characters that can move and talk on their own (with a bit of help from their adult and child friends!).

The most important thing, when playing with any child with special needs, is to have no background noise or distractions. Adjust your timing and repetition to match your child’s interest and attention span.

• Children who often are in childcare especially need times when the only language they hear is directed solely at them. Use the time between dinner and bed as a quiet time with books and activities.
• Background noise from television or videos makes it difficult for baby to sort out what he or she should listen to. The screen’s flickering lights can cause a young child to “shut down” from listening and thinking about how to move their body or how to use their hands and eyes together. Be sure that the television is off when you are reading and playing together.
• Watching you read and talk helps your child to see the mouth actions that go with word formation and is an important aspect of language development. This can only happen in a one-to-one situation.
• Be playful and have fun!